Arkansas corrections department to end small facility lease

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The Arkansas Department of Corrections plans to end its lease at a small facility in Little Rock in order to transfer prisoners and staff members to a refurbished unit in Pine Bluff.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2gxVwhI ) reports the department began renting space for up to 175 prisoners in 2014 at the Wrightsville satellite unit, an outbuilding of the Pulaski County jail, from the county in 2014 for $1 per year.

The state intends to terminate the lease within 90 days. Prison spokesman Solomon Graves says the department plans to end operations at the facility by March 1 and reassign corrections officers to the Barbara Ester Unit near department headquarters in Pine Bluff. Graves says there aren't enough officers to staff both facilities, and the department doesn't have the authority to hire more.